CHOCOLATE ORIGIN STORY
Ashaninka 72% Dark Chocolate – Chocolarder
Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, Ashaninka communities grow cacao within the forest itself, planting cocoa trees under taller shade from native species and fruit trees to keep the land healthy and diverse. This agroforestry approach protects the rainforest while giving families a reliable crop, and the humid, rich valley soils plus gentle shade create beans with deep cocoa character balanced by brighter fruit notes.
The cacao here is prized for their aromatic complexity and natural sweetness that shines through even at 72% cocoa. That terroir, warm rainforest air, forest shade and organic-rich soil, shapes a profile of early green and red fruit with hazelnut undertones, which Chocolarder coaxes out through careful roasting and long conching in their Cornish workshop.
These beans come through supply chains aiming for fair premiums above commodity prices, supporting stable livelihoods so growers can invest in their forest plots rather than clearing more land. Fermented by hand on the farm and sun-dried, they arrive ready to reveal layered flavours: apple peel and raspberry in the middle, giving way to a long finish of burnt sugar caramel.
Tasting Guide
Ashaninka 72% Dark Chocolate – Tasting Guide
Let the bar come to room temperature first. This lets the full range of flavours open up properly, rather than feeling muted or rushed. Break off a small square and let it sit on your tongue for a moment before you start to chew.
You’ll notice it starts with early notes of green and red fruit, carrying a gentle hazelnut undertone that feels warm and inviting. As it melts slowly across your palate, the middle brings apple peel and raspberry, both bright but not sharp, giving a clean progression that builds rather than overwhelms. Towards the end, those fruit tones fade into a long, satisfying caramel reminiscent of burnt sugar, leaving a smooth cocoa warmth that lingers without bitterness.
Take your time between squares. Notice how the hazelnut seems to reappear on the second taste, and the caramel finish stays present even after you’ve swallowed. It’s a bar that rewards patience, revealing more nuance each time.
The Berry Mellow House Blend works beautifully here. Its berry and mellow chocolate notes mirror the raspberry and fruit progression in the chocolate, while the smooth body supports the hazelnut and caramel finish without clashing, creating a gentle harmony that feels balanced and quite moreish.
Packaging
Plastic Free Packaging | Recyclable | Biodegradable
Chocolarder Origin Story
About Chocolarder
Chocolarder is one of the UK's few bean to bar chocolate makers and the only one operating in Cornwall. The company produces chocolate in the seaside town of Falmouth using high quality ingredients, with a focus on local sourcing where possible.
Their Story
Chocolarder was founded in 2012 by Mike Longman, a former pastry chef who spent years running pastry kitchens in restaurants across the UK, including Michelin starred establishments earning up to 5 AA Rosettes. While working in Cornwall, Longman noticed something missing: there was no locally made chocolate in the region. This realisation sparked an idea. Drawing on his professional kitchen experience, where sourcing the finest ethical ingredients was paramount, he decided to apply the same principles to chocolate making. His philosophy was simple: if you're investing significant time and effort into creating something, whether pastries or chocolate, you should only work with the best quality, ethically sourced ingredients.
Their Production Process
The bean to bar process at Chocolarder is meticulous and hands on. Once cocoa beans arrive from farms, they are carefully sorted by hand before being slowly roasted. Each batch of beans requires a different roasting time because they come from slightly different growing environments. The beans are quickly cooled to stop the roasting at precisely the right moment.
Next, the beans are cracked and the shells removed, separating out the nibs in a process called winnowing. The heavier nibs fall while air lifts away the lighter shells. These nibs are then stone ground into fine granules, becoming smoother and smoother until they transform into cocoa liquor using a stone melanger, essentially a giant stone wheel rotating on a stone slab. Sugar is added at this stage (unless making 100% chocolate), and the mixture goes through a three roll refiner that breaks down the particle size to 30 microns, creating that perfect melt on the tongue.
The chocolate is then conched, a process that truly brings the chocolate to life. During conching, the chocolate is aerated and kneaded, particles are rounded and evenly distributed, acids dissipate, and flavour compounds develop and react. When ready, the chocolate is poured out to mature in large blocks for around 40 days, allowing the flavours to deepen and develop further.
After ageing, the chocolate is tempered and poured into individual moulds, then wrapped in plastic free packaging, ready to be enjoyed.
Their Equipment
Working in the small bean to bar chocolate industry has given Chocolarder the opportunity to get creative with production equipment. Over the years, Mike Longman has developed something of a passion for restoring antique production machines, experimenting and tinkering to find better ways to make chocolate. As production has expanded, the machinery has evolved too, with Longman taking on the unusual task of renovating old equipment to suit their specific needs.
The factory is home to several remarkable machines, each with its own story. There's Kye, an antique roaster discovered in the middle of France via the internet. In its former life, it roasted hazelnuts, but by the time it arrived in Cornwall, it needed serious restoration. The machine was stripped down, cleaned, blasted to remove old paint and primers, then rebuilt into the striking piece of equipment it is today. The name Kye comes from Mike's grandfather, who remembered it as the name of a chocolate drink soldiers had during World War II. The restoration was funded through a crowdfunding campaign in 2018.
Then there's Mr McKracken, another French discovery. This antique marzipan roller has been part of the Chocolarder process since 2016. Now it serves a completely different purpose, breaking down roasted beans and shattering them into separate components, making it easier to sort shells from nibs before winnowing.
There's also Terry, who came from the closed Terry's of York factory. Yes, he once helped make chocolate oranges. Before arriving at Chocolarder, Terry had a stint at a honey farm where he was unsuccessfully used to crush honey into sugar crystals. Now he breaks down nibs after winnowing, preparing them for the melanger.
These machines, along with many others, can be seen up close during factory tours at the Falmouth facility.